A Regrettable Fate

Summary:
Sequel to A Fresh Start. There is one thing in the world that both Quil Ateara and Claire Young are sure of: their love for one another. But is love really enough when one is a vampire and the other is a werewolf?

Notes:

1. Blood

The blood—it is everywhere. It has splattered on my clothes, the grass surrounding me and the dead deer, lying on the ground with its throat ripped open. The mere sight of the deer disgusts me, not because the sight itself is so gruesome, but because I was the one who caused it. I was the one who had viciously murdered a poor, innocent animal.

The hunger, which caused the death of the deer in the first place, begins to burn the back of my throat again. A dry sob escapes me as I realize that I will have to do the same thing all over again to make the burning stop. Animals will never be enough, a voice in the back of my head tells me. I would like to think that it was just the beast within me saying that, but it is clear that I am the beast now.

They will have to be, I argue back with myself.If I am going to be a vampire, I am going to do it the right way. I know why I have to do it this way. Not only because of my own morals, but because of him.

My whole body stills, pain greater than anything I have ever felt courses through my body. I cannot think of him—not now, not yet. I know that I will have to leave this town, leave him behind, but I am not ready to pay that price.

Another idea occurs to me: maybe I could just let him kill me. Being dead would be much better than being a filthy bloodsucker. He probably already sees me as dead—

Don’t think of him!

The pain erupts within me again. I try to distract myself with positive thoughts, except everything positive in my life has always revolved around—

Don’t think of him!

Suddenly, I get the distraction I was hoping for. My newly heightened senses tell me one—no, two—people are running towards the clearing that I am in. They are running all too fast to be humans; they are vampires, like me. I can smell their sweet scent in the air now—so much like my own.

Fear grips my heart. The Volturi have found me and now they will force me into a life that I never wanted to live. If Demetri was right, then Aro truly did plan on using me as revenge against the pack.

I turn to run away from the clearing, when a strange, unfamiliar voice enters my head. Hello, Claire. My name is Bella Cullen. Please don’t run away. I know you’re scared, but I’m not here to hurt you. We, my husband Edward and I, that is, want to help you.

I am shocked. This was the Bella from all of the stories I had been told throughout my life. And she is speaking to me inside my head. I am officially going crazy.

No, you’re not, Claire, the same voice, Bella, responds. I realize that she can hear my thoughts.

Before I can respond, two figures step into the clearing. They are running at full speed, yet are still able to come to a graceful stop before where I am sitting in the center of the clearing.

Both of them are extraordinarily beautiful. The girl, who must be Bella, has long, wavy chocolate colored hair and a seraphic face that has a pair of big, beautiful golden eyes. She is short, much shorter than I am, and slender, yet there are gentle curves to her body. The boy—Edward, I remember Bella calling him—has a face that is equally as angelic. His hair is bronzed colored and tousled. He has a lean body, but I can tell that he is muscular.

Bella smiles at me, almost shyly. “Hi, Claire,” she says softly, as if afraid of scaring me away.

I have no time for pleasantries. “What do you want?” I ask, my voice sounding far more musical than it ever did when I was a human.

“To help protect you from the Volturi and, if you want, teach you how to live the way my family does,” Edward responds.

I snort. “If you wanted to help protect me from the Volturi, then I’m afraid that you are just a bit too late. Gee, it’s too bad that you didn’t come here a few days ago, then maybe my life wouldn’t be completely ruined.”

I expect them to be angry at me for my blatant rudeness, but that is not how they react at all. Both of them frown at me, their eyes filling with sadness. “I’m so sorry, Claire,” Bella apologizes, her voice breaking with emotion. “We came the minute that we found out about your situation. My sister, Alice, can see the future, but she only saw yours yesterday. She couldn’t see it before that because you were with the were—"

“DON’T SAY IT!” I shriek, my anger surprising even myself. There is no way I can talk with them about him, though, when I can barely think about him myself. Both Edward and Bella try to speak, but neither can seem to get the words out.

I realize that I have accidentally used my powers on them. You may speak, I silently command them.

Bella stares at me strangely. “What the hell was that?”

I laugh, but it sounds completely devoid of any real happiness. “That is my stupid power, which I don’t seem to have any control over, as you can see,” I tell them.

All of a sudden, a wind blows a gust of new, unfamiliar air into my nostrils. I smell an unpleasant scent mixed in with it. “What is that stench?” I ask.

I can see that both of them can smell it too, because their postures stiffen. “Run, Claire,” Edward orders.

“Why? I’m not afraid of some stupid smell, no matter how bad it is,” I lie. There is no fear in my voice, but I can still feel it in my heart. Something is coming—something dangerous.

I hear a twig snap behind me. That something is here. I whirl around to find the source of the stench. It is the size of a horse with familiar eyes and chocolate fur.